There are no perfect teams in 2025.
There are very good teams (the Padres and Mets are playing .708 ball). There are bounce back teams (the Rangers are 14-9, the Red Sox 14-11). There are teams fulfilling expectations (the Yankees and Dodgers). And there are teams off to surprising starts (the Cubs are 10-9 against the NL West).
But every team that takes the field this spring is also coping with problem areas, under-performing players, or positions that potentially threaten to undermine their lofty ambitions down the road.
Whether these teams ultimately succeed in their pursuit of postseason glory may hinge on how well they can patch, or overcome, their weaknesses.
Here’s a look at the problem areas confronting each of the half dozen NL teams that are playing at a .560 pace or better as of the morning of April 23. In an upcoming article, we’ll look at the same issue concerning the best AL teams.
One weakness every National League contender needs to address
Arizona Diamondbacks (14-9, .609, fourth place, NL West)
Need: More production from non-star players
Thanks to major contributions from Josh Naylor, Corbin Carroll and Pavin Smith, the D-Backs have — at 5.43 runs scored per game — the majors’ third-most productive offense.
Yet, it has been a strikingly uneven offense. Arizona’s productivity is actually sub-par at a concerning number of positions. Diamondbacks catchers, primarily Gabriel Moreno, have been worth negative six-tenths of a game in Win Probability Added. That’s statistically the worst performance at the catching position in all of MLB.
The D-Backs are also sub-par at third base (Eugenio Suarez has a .152/.264/.418 slash line) and in all outfield positions not occupied by Carroll.
The rotation has also been problematic. Arizona’s starters have generated a negative Win Probability Added, one of the main reasons why the team stands just 19th in Runs Allowed Per Game. The arrival of Corbin Burnes was supposed to buttress that staff, and perhaps in time it will. But Burnes is carrying a 4.64 ERA, Zac Gallen is at 5.60 and Merrill Kelly is at 4.73. For a Big Three, that’s not good.
Chicago Cubs (15-10, .600, first, NL Central)
Need: Answers at third base and in the bullpen
The Cubs have the majors’ most productive offense. They’re generating 6.24 runs per game, three-quarters of a run more than any other team. The pleasant surprises are abundant: Carson Kelly (.371/.540/.971), Pete Crow-Armstrong (276/.324/.510), Michael Busch (.301/.370/.578) and Miguel Amaya (.278/.298/.500) are all off to roaring starts.
To Cubs fans, the issues are equally obvious. Even this early in the season, the bullpen has been odious. Cubs relievers are already at -1.3 Win Probability Added, the sixth-worst pen in all of MLB.
And having passed on Alex Bregman at third base, the team has wrestled with how to fill that spot. Collectively, Matt Shaw, Jon Berti and Gage Workman have been a liability with just one homer and three extra-base hits at what is supposed to be a power position.
It’s like trying to win a pennant playing eight against nine.
Los Angeles Dodgers (16-8, .667, second, NL West)
Need: More length from the starting rotation
The Dodgers were viewed as virtually unbeatable in pre-season speculation. Their .667 winning percentage through the season’s first month justifies that assessment.
Yet, even with the game’s consensus juggernaut roster, there are concerns. In the case of the Dodgers, the biggest concern is pitching.
That was supposed to be a team strength with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Tony Gonsolin, Clayton Kershaw and — eventually — Shohei Ohtani on board. The Dodgers’ problem is they have chosen to minimize the value of that asset by using it in the most sparing fashion.
Dodger starters are averaging less than five innings per appearance. Yamamoto leads the NL in ERA (0.93), but he is only tied for 22nd in innings pitched. Dustin May is the only other Dodger ranking among the top 100 in that most basic of categories.
Lack of usage in turn puts pressure on the Dodger bullpen, Like the starters, that pen was touted as a strength, but to date, Dodger relievers collectively rank 19th among the 30 teams in Win Probability Added.
In sum, Dodger pitchers are at -1.6 WPA, the eighth-worst performance by a staff to date.
New York Mets (17-7, .708, first, NL East)
Need: For offense to start living up to its billing
The Mets and Padres share baseball’s best record. New York was supposed to be a powerful offense with questionable pitching. The fact that the result-to-date is almost exactly opposite may, in a strange way, be reassuring to Mets fans.
The pitching has been excellent. The Mets are first in runs allowed per game and first in team ERA. But they are a very ordinary 18th in runs scored per game and a middling 14th in OPS.
Only a few of the Mets sluggers are slugging. As measured by WPA, the offense has been sub-par at second base, third base, left field center field and DH. Third baseman Mark Vientos is hitting .173, and DH Starling Marte is at .171. Outfielders Brandon Nimmo and Tyrone Taylor are both hanging around .200.
If you assume that those bats will pick things up, then all may be well in Queens. No guarantees, however, on that.
San Diego Padres (17-7, .708, first, NL West)
Need: Help at catcher and in left field
Fernando Tatis Jr.. Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill are crushing the ball. Meanwhile, Michael King is undefeated and Nick Pivetta is giving up basically nothing. All’s well in San Diego.
But maybe not quite. The Padres rank 27th in productivity from the catcher’s position, and they are also bottom 10 at first base, left field, DH and off the bench.
In his two seasons with the Padres, Elias Diaz has become a confirmed .190 hitter with decidedly mixed defensive ratings. Between Jason Heyward, Oscar Gonzalez and Brandon Lockridge, the Padres can’t figure out who’s playing left, but since none of them are hitting, it really hasn’t mattered.
San Francisco Giants (15-9, .625, third, NL West)
Need: Willy Adames to live up to his contract
The Giants have been one of the NL’s bigger surprises. But perhaps the biggest surprise is that they’re off to this great start while getting so little from their big offseason addition, Willy Adames.
Signed as a free agent through 2031, Adames is hitting .196 with a.537 OPS that would get him dispatched to Triple-A if he didn’t have an established reputation. For the moment, the Giants — at -1.0 WPA — have the least productive shortstop position in the Majors.
For the $26 million AAV the Giants have assigned to Adames, one would hope for better.
Giants pitchers have also been sub-standard. Of their five regular starters, four have ERAs higher than 4.00 and two of those — Jordan Hicks at 6.59 and Justin Verlander at 5.47 — are above 5.00. The bullpen has been a saving grace, ranking fifth in WPA.
The Giants are also sub-standard in production from the catching, first base, left field and DH positions. In all, there's a lot of weaknesses in San Francisco, but the team has proven more than capable of overcoming it's flaws thus far.